


When The Morning Comes

by Happy_As_A_Clam



Category: Ed Edd n Eddy
Genre: Anger, Attempted Blackmail, Attempted Suicide, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, Disassociation, Explicit Language, F/M, Forced Incest, Homophobic Slurs, I Hate Myself for Writing This but I'm Posting it Anyway, Implied Nudity, Incest, Mental Abuse, Mentions of Murder, Multi, Panic Attacks, Physical Abuse, Planning a Murder, Rape, Rape of a Minor, Self-Loathing, Sexual Abuse, Sort Of, Toxic Masculinity, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, implied eating disorder, implied self harm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:41:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25778335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Happy_As_A_Clam/pseuds/Happy_As_A_Clam
Summary: READ THE TAGS, I AMNOTPLAYING AROUNDThis is an AU where BPS never happened and the kids never learned the truth about Eddy’s brother. Over the years, Eddy’s negative feelings and unhealthy coping mechanisms festered and grew until even his only two friends had to leave him to “take a break” for a few months. Now sophomores and juniors high school and unwilling to deal with Eddy’s horrible attitude and thieving ways any longer, the teens decide to get some blackmail on him to take him down a few pegs. After all, it worked well enough before, right?It all comes to a head one Friday after school when the teens find out much more than they bargained for.And suddenly, everything about Eddy McGee made perfect, terrifying sense.
Relationships: Ed/Edd "Double D", Ed/Edd "Double D"/Eddy, Ed/Eddy (Ed Edd n Eddy), Edd "Double D"/Eddy, Eddy & Eddy's Brother (Ed Edd n Eddy), Jimmy/Sarah (Ed Edd n Eddy), Kevin/Nazz (Ed Edd n Eddy)
Comments: 17
Kudos: 59





	1. Evermore

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know why I wrote this and I'm just making it up as I go
> 
> Who knows how many chapters this might have? I certainly don't

Kevin snarled at Eddy’s retreating back, slamming his locker shut in his anger. The only thing keeping him from going after the thieving little dork was the plan he and the rest of the cul-de-sac kids waiting for him in the library came up with. Kevin gave one last heated glare in Eddy’s direction, the distance between them making the shrimp look even shorter. Books in hand, Kevin stomped his way to the library.

He met up with the others, Nazz and Rolf, Jonny and Plank, Sara and Jimmy, and surprisingly, Double D and Ed. They were sitting at a group of tables they pushed together so they could study more readily. Kevin looked around the table at each face, some determined, some impassive, some furious, some nervous. “Everything’s set up, Jonny?” Kevin asked, pulling out the chair next to Nazz and sitting down. Jonny nodded.

“I hacked into his computer in my free period and set things up to record audio and visual on my laptop. It’s open season for blackmail.” He glanced at Double D and Ed’s twin dirty looks and cleared his throat. “Er... Just as a precaution? We won’t leak it, he just needs to be taken down a peg or two.”

“You got the key to his room, Double D?” Kevin steered the conversation back to the task at hand.

Reluctantly, Double D nodded. He hesitated when reaching into his pocket and showing the key. “I’m... I’m still not so sure about this. Eddy’s been mine and Ed’s only other friend for so long... to do this to him...”

“Look. You and Ed came to us, remember? Eddy hasn’t just been a thieving asshole to us, he’s been one to you too, probably for a lot longer than you say he’s been. I know you three are friends, but when was the last time he’s actually been _tolerable_?” Double D and Ed didn’t have an answer to that question. Ed grabbed Double D’s hand under the table and squeezed. Double D squeezed back.

Double D spoke up. “We kept trying to figure out what was wrong, why he was acting so...”

“Deplorable?” Jimmy spoke up.

“Nasty?” Nazz guessed.

“Like a puttock yellowbelly who wishes to steal your hard-earned turnips?”

Double D ignored them and continued, “ _different_ , but he wouldn’t tell us. He would say that nothing was wrong or he would just get angry and leave or kick us out. We... we tried so _hard_ to be there for him, but he wouldn’t _let_ us. We...” Double D glanced at Ed.

“We told him we needed a break from him,” Ed admitted. “We thought it would help if we gave him space, but we think we made it worse.”

“And that’s why you came to us, right?”

They nodded. “We didn’t know what else to do. We need to find out what’s going on with him.”

Nazz spoke up, “Are you even sure something’s wrong? Eddy’s always been like this. It seems to me that this is just his personality amplified.”

It was Ed who answered, “You don’t know him like me and Double D do. Something’s wrong. We know there is.”

“Whatever, man,” Kevin shrugged. “Anyway, we have a plan and we just need to wait a few hours. Let’s just finish our work so we can watch the show later.”

“Ugh. I can’t believe I’m doing _homework_ on a Friday night. Fish-face is gonna get what’s coming to him.”

“You had better not be going back on your promise, Sara. If you try to get physical with him, Ed and I won’t help you.”

“I’m not going to beat him up if that’s what you’re worried about. Besides, I know you two are as sick of him as we are. You literally just admitted it!”

“Telling someone you need a break from them does not suddenly mean we want him beaten to a bloody pulp!”

Sara rolled her eyes, “Whatever. If this plan works, no one here will need to beat him up. No matter how badly he deserves it,” she added under her breath.

Nazz chose that moment to speak up before a fight broke out, “We’re still going to your house, right Kev?”

“Yeah. My dad is out of state and my mom is working overtime at the hospital. She won’t be home till way late. She knows I’m having people over, but that’s about it.”

With their plan set in motion, the kids worked for several hours to finish their homework for the whole weekend. None of them knew how long it would take to gather blackmail material on Eddy and they wanted to be prepared to play the long game. 

Little did they know, it wouldn’t take more than a day.

\------

The kids finished their work a few hours after school ended and they all walked back to their homes to grab their overnight bags and meet up at Kevin’s place.

By the time everyone arrived, Kevin had his living room set up for a watch party, the subject being Eddy. They all sat down to watch, some more reluctant than others, while Jonny set up his equipment and hooked the feed up to Kevin’s TV. When the screen lit up with picture of Eddy’s bedroom and soft static came over the speaker system, all Jonny had to do was fast forward the recording to when Eddy came home. He hit play when the teen walked into his room.

Eddy trudged in, looking rather unhappy- a contrast to the sneer on his face when he was trying to pick a fight with Kevin at the school earlier. Maybe that was why he looked so upset, Kevin didn’t rise to the bait. Kevin smirked at not giving the dweeb what he wanted.

They continued to watch as Eddy dumped his book bag unceremoniously to the floor, pulled up the hood on his over-sized hoodie, and flopped face-first onto his bed. After a few minutes, he flipped to his side and curled up, his eyes staring blankly at the far wall of his room. 

Kevin was just about to tell Jonny to fast forward- they didn’t need to see the dork take a nap- when Eddy suddenly sat up, listening for something they couldn’t hear. He slipped off his bed and poked his head out into the hallway, looking for something. He disappeared for a few seconds, then came back, shutting his door.

When he knelt down at the foot of his bed, the teens leaned forward as one, wondering with morbid fascination what Eddy was looking for. Double D and Ed already knew, though.

He pulled out a guitar. 

The two shared a worried glance at the sight of the instrument. They knew Eddy played for fun, but he also saw it as therapeutic in a way. It helped calm him when he was upset and helped him express his feelings and emotions in a constructive way. He didn’t let anyone even know he HAD a guitar, let alone that he played, with the sole exception of his two best friends. They had agreed, however reluctant it was they still agreed, to help ‘take Eddy down a peg’ as the others called it, but they weren’t sure if this secret was meant to be exposed.

Eddy climbed back on his bed and sat cross-legged, gently strumming the strings. As he began to play a soft melody, the computer’s microphone picked up a peculiar sound. Eddy had closed his eyes and that noise was him humming to himself. The tune was somewhat familiar, but Kevin couldn’t place it.

“That hypocrite! He got on Jimmy’s case the other day for singing, saying how it’s for wimps and... a word I’m not going to repeat! Now here he is doing it too!”

“Is that from Beauty and the Beast?” Jimmy asked. Now that he said it, Kevin realized he was right. He and Nazz had watched that movie a few times together. Why was Eddy humming the Beast’s song?

Just as he was contemplating, the unknowing teen began to sing softly, his voice quieter than any of the kids had ever heard.

“...It’s more than I can bear... Now I know they’ll never leave me, even as they run away...” Eddy had changed the word ‘she’ to ‘they.’ Two guesses as to whom he meant. By the sharp intake of breath over to his left and the way Ed grabbed Double D’s hand, Kevin guessed that the Ed’s had come to the same conclusion. “They will still torment me, calm me, hurt me, move me... come what may...” As the teens listened, the ones unfamiliar with it were surprised at how... _beautiful_ Eddy’s singing voice was. It was soft, with a slight roughness that conveyed deep emotion. He had the skill of someone who practiced for hours on end. If he loved singing as much as he seemed to, why did he condemn it?

“Wasting in my lonely tower, waiting by an open door... I’ll fool myself they’ll walk right in, and be with me for evermore.” He went back to humming for a short while and then switched again to singing, “Though they’ve already flown so far beyond my reach, they’re never out of sight...” At this, Ed and Double D stood as one, much to the chagrin of the others.

“Where are you going?”

“We need to talk to him.”

“Sit down, this was recorded hours ago. Besides, we still don’t know what’s wrong aside from him missing you two. This is just a piece of the puzzle.”

The Ed’s glanced at each other and sat. They quieted down in time to hear the rest of the song. “...waiting by an open door. I’ll fool myself they’ll walk right in... and as the long, long nights begin... I’ll think of all that might have been, waiting here for evermore.” He strummed the rest of the tune before starting up with another.

“This one’s also from Beauty and the Beast,” Sara said. “Didn’t think he was the type to watch fairytale romances.”

“All those days in the sun... what I’d _give_ to relive just one. Undo what’s done, and bring back the light...” he had just started the next verse when all hell broke loose.

The door to Eddy’s bedroom slammed open, startling all the teens, but none more so than Eddy. He started badly and was on his feet in less than a second, backing away from the door, guitar forgotten on his bed. His brother loomed in the doorway, a scowl firmly in place as he stalked slowly into the room.

“What,” Eddy’s brother started, “did I tell you about singin’?”

“I- I’m sorry, I-”

“WHAT DID I _TELL YOU_?” his brother roared, taking a menacing step forward. The teens flinched at what was happening and tendrils of ice-cold dread began to slither into their hearts.

Eddy backed away, trembling, but managed to answer, “Not to! You told me not to!”

“Singin’ ain’t manly. It’s only for wimps and faggots.” Chill realization made Sara and the others go chalk white. “Are you a wimp or a faggot?” he asked, slowly making his way to his little brother’s bed where the guitar lay. Eddy followed the movement with his eyes.

“N-no.” Eddy answered shakily. 

“You sure?” Eddy nodded. “That so? Well, _this_ says otherwise,” he picked up Eddy’s guitar and before the teen could react, snapped the neck over his knee. Eddy stared in shocked silence as the pieces were tossed aside. Ed made a choked sound at the sight of the instrument, the one that Eddy would play occasionally for him and Double D, being destroyed so carelessly. That guitar meant so much to their friend and now it lay useless on the carpet.

Lightning fast, Eddy’s brother lunged forward and wrapped his meaty hand around Eddy’s wrist. Eddy cried out and struggled as he was forcefully dragged closer to the threat. “Let- let go! T-Tony! You’re hurting me!” He continued to struggle until he was slapped hard across the face, head jerking to the side. Someone gasped. The teens could see the angry red mark that was left behind; they could see the wetness of Eddy’s eyes and the tremble of his lip. Eddy went still and quiet.

“I think you’re lying to me,” his brother said softly. Wide eyed and terrified, Eddy shook his head.

“No. I-I’m not. I’m not lying, Bro. I’m not!” Tony ignored him and scratched contemplatively at his chin, Eddy’s arm still caught in the vice-like grip of his other hand.

“Hmm,” Tony pretended to think, toying with his little brother, “What about those two fags you hang around with? Aren’t they your boy-toys?”

_That_ got a different reaction from Eddy. For a moment, his need to defend his friends won out over his fear of his brother, “They aren’t fags! And... and they don’t want anything to do with me a-anymore.” His anger turned to sadness as he remembered that Ed and Double D wanted “space.” He knew how that went. They would move on and he would be left behind, just like always.

Tony laughed in his face and Eddy jerked his head back. “You’re all alone! No allies, no friends, no boy-toys! _No one_ likes you!”

“Thanks for reminding me,” Eddy smart-mouthed and then immediately regretted it a moment later. He was struck again and the humor left his brother’s face. Eddy never did know when to keep his big mouth shut.

“People like them make you weak. You’re better off without them. You understand me?”

Even with his heart pounding at the anger in Tony’s voice, Eddy couldn’t help but to try defend them, “But... they’re my _friends_.” The teen’s hearts went out to Eddy at the _ache_ in his voice as he agonized over what his actions caused him to lose.

“Your so called _friends_ left you. They don’t _want_ to be your friend anymore. It proves my point. You got invested. You got emotionally attached. Then they left you in the dust and now you’re weaker for it.”

“Oh, _oh_.” Double D keened, he and Ed starting to finally understand their friend’s behavior.

There was no sound but the static through the speakers, before Eddy said softly, “They didn’t make me weak. They made me strong.” Ed clenched Double D’s hand until his knuckles went white, tears slipping down both their faces.

Tony sneered, “Well then! If you miss them so much, maybe I should pay them a visit. Teach them a lesson on what happens when people turn their backs on my little brother.” Eddy’s eyes widened in horror and he shook his head.

“No. No. No! Don’t- don’t hurt them, bro! Please don’t hurt them!” He was begging, tears actively dripping down his cheeks and he started to struggle against his brother’s iron grip once more.

“Don’t tell me what to do, Pipsqueak!” Tony shook him roughly and twisted his wrist, forcing Eddy’s arm at an unnatural angle. Eddy yelped in surprise and pain and Tony laughed cruelly.

“I think I need to teach _you_ another lesson.” A stifled sob earned Eddy a backhand to his other cheek. Now facing away from the camera, Eddy didn’t move. It wasn't worth it.

His brother jerked his arm again. “Look at me.” Eddy looked. “Take off your shirt.” 

“Oh, _no_.” Nazz’s hands were covering her mouth in dread.

"Don't do it," Jimmy begged, but he and the others knew it was pointless.

When Eddy hesitated, the hand holding his wrist clenched visibly tighter and Eddy winced in pain. “Don’t make me repeat myself.” 

When Eddy’s trembling hand reached for the hem of his hoodie, his brother let his other arm go. He grasped the cloth, his hands still unsteady, and pulled it over his head, his shirt coming off with it.

The kids were surprised to see how skinny Eddy was. They could see his ribs. All those oversize, baggy sweatshirts he wore even in the middle of summer did well to hide his thin frame. Kevin wracked his brain to remember the last time he had actually _seen_ Eddy eat something, at school or otherwise. He realized he couldn’t remember the last time the teen had even set foot in the cafeteria. At the time, Kevin had reveled in an Eddy-free lunch hour. Now, it just made him sick to his stomach.

The hoodies also did a good job of hiding all of Eddy's injuries. Long scars and half healed cuts decorated his skin, what looked to be cigarette burns marked his chest and stomach, bruises old and new were smattered all across his visible skin, some distinctly hand-shaped, others more abstract.

His brother eyed him up and down. “You’re less fat that usual.” Eddy blinked as if he were surprised by the words, but said nothing. “You’re still fat, though. Pants off.”

Eddy’s lip wobbled, “Please,” he said quietly, looking at his brother with pleading eyes.

The teens cried out as one when his brother pulled a knife on him and held it to his throat. Eddy’s chest heaved with panicked breaths and he squeezed his eyes shut. He fumbled with the waistband of his baggy sweatpants and slipped his legs out of them. Kevin heard Double D sob from behind him. He knew there were no dry eyes in his living room.

“Good boy. Now let’s get on with the lesson, shall we?” The words dripped like poison from his brother’s mouth as he tucked the knife away. Eddy just stared blankly at the floor. Tony grabbed Eddy roughly by the hips, hard enough to bruise, and yanked him closer. He leaned forward to whisper in Eddy’s ear, and the microphone managed to pick it up. “I’ll carve my name on your back if you scream, understand?” Wordlessly, Eddy nodded. “You better not cry this time either,” Tony added as an afterthought, playing with the waistband of Eddy’s boxers. “Real men don’t cry. I’d _hate_ to have to teach you _another_ lesson because you cried.” Kevin didn’t realize his fists were clenched until he felt a smaller hand grab his. He held onto it and Nazz squeezed it hard. She reached her other hand out for Sara, Sara for Jimmy, Jimmy for Jonny, Jonny for Rolf, and so on until they were all holding hands, trying to give what little comfort they could.

With that, the teens watched helplessly as the recording showed Tony forcing Eddy to do horrible, unspeakable things. Tony even removed his own clothing and wrestled the teen to the ground at one point, more than one person screaming in horror at the action.

They couldn’t see anything due to the angle, but they could still _hear_. They heard the pained whimpers and choked sobs from Eddy and the filthy words and dark chuckles from his brother.

“If you weren’t such a faggot, I wouldn’t have to do this,” Tony remarked with a grunt as he continued. Eddy said nothing, but the other teens had a few choice words that went unheard. "Men aren't supposed to be with men, you see? They will only cause you pain. Find yourself a woman to fuck and then you'll be a real man."

When he was done, Tony sat up, sneering down at Eddy, who was still off screen. He scowled and reached forward, yanking Eddy up by his hair as the teen let out a pained cry. He was slapped again and fell quiet once more.

“I told you not to cry or I’d give you something to cry about.”

“I’m s-sorry. I’m sorry,” Eddy gasped, blood drying on his cut lip. A tear dripped down his cheek and he blinked rapidly to try to stop it. There were nasty looking red marks and fresh cuts on his collarbone, trailing down his torso until they disappeared from the camera’s view. 

“Poor, stupid, Eddy. You were always so slow on the uptake. I told you what'd happen if you cried, right? Looks like you need another lesson.”

Tony shoved him back against the edge of the bed and Eddy drew his knees up to his chest with a whimper and buried his head.

“Look up.”

He looked up slowly.

“Open your mouth.”

“No,” Double D cried, “ _no, no, NO!_ ”

Eddy shook his head. His brother snarled and held a knife to Eddy’s throat and pressed hard enough to draw little beads of blood. “Open. Up.” Eddy did as he was told. Tony moved forward and roughly grabbed Eddy’s hair in his fist as he positioned himself.

They listened in shocked disbelief and terror for their classmate as Eddy gagged and choked, a low, agonized whine starting up. He thrashed in desperation in the middle of it, but Tony forced the smaller boy still as he continued.

“I’m only doing this for your own good, you need to toughen up.” he said as he kept a tight grip on his little brother. "Someone has to teach you how to be a proper man."

When he finally backed away to pull on his pants, Eddy was left sputtering and gasping, dry heaving on the carpet. Tony ignored him as he put on his shirt and walked away, opening the door to Eddy’s room.

“I’m going out. I’ll come back later to see if the lesson stuck this time.” Tony paused in the doorway, “Oh, and take a shower. You smell like shit.” Eddy waited until the front door slammed shut and a car engine started up and drove away. Then, and only then, did he get up and go into the bathroom, shut the door, and start up the faucet to take a shower.

.  
.  
.

Even over the roar of the water, they could hear him screaming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you know that the sexual assault of men may be the most under-reported crime in the US? This is where I did some of my research into this very serious topic and how it affects people, just remove the spaces: https: //www.evawintl.org /Library/DocumentLibraryHandler .ashx?id=656
> 
> If you or anyone you know has had something like this happen to you, please speak up and get help. Call the national sexual assault hotline for free confidential help 24 hours a day: 1-800-656-4673, or the international toll-free number: 833-SAFE-833 or email: crisis@ pathwaystosafety .org


	2. How to Save a Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Ed's decide what to do next, with some help from their friends.

The teens were dead silent as they stared uncomprehendingly at the screen. Had that really just happened? Had they really just seen someone they had known since childhood get _brutally raped_ and _beaten_ by his own _brother_?

Kevin looked around in disbelief; half thinking he was crazy and didn’t just witness what he thought he just witnessed.

What he saw confirmed that he wasn’t crazy.

Nazz looked horrified and sick to her stomach. Sara looked livid and ready to throw up and Jimmy looked like he _did_ just throw up. Kevin hoped it wasn’t on his parent’s new carpet, but that was the least of his worries. Rolf was a mix between deeply disturbed and murderous. Jonny looked both guilty and ticked off at the same time. Even Plank seemed more expressive than usual, his drawn on smile suddenly looking rather menacing. 

And the Ed’s... Kevin rarely saw either of those two truly angry and those rare times alone scared him enough to not mess with either of them. This time however, Double D looked... blank. Kevin couldn’t tell _what_ he was thinking, and that was terrifying in its own right. Ed looked as if he was planning a murder (Ed actually planning something was pretty much unheard of), no doubt in a gruesome way similar to what he read in his comic books. Not that Kevin blamed him. After what they just witnessed, killing Eddy’s monster of a brother was going to be the least of their crimes.

“What...” Nazz broke the silence, and seven pairs of eyes snapped to her. “What do we do now?”

“We have to get him out of there,” Double D said, his voice sounding strange. “We _have to get him out of there_.”

“How?”

He turned to stare at Sara, not maliciously, but as if he couldn’t understand what she was asking. 

“We’ll get him,” Ed answered as he stood up and gently tugged at Double D’s hand until he stood as well.

“Jonny, fast forward until you get to the present.” Kevin turned to look at the Eds. “We’ll monitor, just in case his brother comes back and you need help, ok?” Jonny hurried to do his job and the two Ed’s nodded.

They quickly left and made their way to Eddy’s house, making sure his brother’s car wasn’t in the driveway, and went around to the back door of their friend’s room.

They knocked on the door, but received no answer. There was no answer even when they stood knocking and calling Eddy’s name for several minutes. Double D dug into his pocket, pulling out the key Eddy had given him a long time ago. He looked at it with a growing sense of shame; they had been planning on using this key to search Eddy’s room if the recording had turned out to be a bust. He felt disgusted at himself for dirtying the meaning of a once thoughtful and highly treasured gift of absolute trust between three friends.

Double D only hoped he and Ed would be able to regain that trust after what they had done.

He slipped the key into the lock and opened the door, sparing the computer in the corner of the room a passing glance. He felt slightly better knowing the other kids were watching out for them.

He and Ed noticed several things when they first walked in: Eddy’s precious guitar that he bought with his own money (an impressive feat in of itself) snapped in half and laying forgotten, the clothes Eddy wore to school scattered on the floor, the drying blood and... other fluids on the carpet, and Eddy’s bathroom door still firmly shut and the shower still running. Ed took a shuddering breath and Double D squeezed his hand in support. They carefully stepped around the mess and made their way to the bathroom door.

Double D knocked gently on the wood and called Eddy’s name. He didn’t get an answer. “Eddy? It’s Ed and me. May we come in?” they heard a soft noise in the affirmative, almost completely drowned out by the running water.

They opened the door.

Eddy was still in the bathtub when Double D and Ed found him, the water having long since run cold. His skin had been scrubbed raw and his cuts were bleeding sluggishly.

“Eddy?”

As soon as he saw them he started crying, sobbing silently into his knees and wrapping his arms around his legs.

They could see a trail of thin scars, old and brand new alike, running up and down Eddy’s forearms. Double D blanched at the sight, a razor blade was lying beside his friend, forgotten. He reached over slowly to turn off the water, to make sure Eddy understood what he was doing. Despite moving slowly, Eddy flinched and Double D pulled away.

He held his hands up in a placating gesture, “Shh, Eddy, it’s ok, we’re here. You’re safe, you’re safe.”

He looked at them through red-rimmed eyes and they knelt down beside the tub. “Oh, _Eddy_.” He didn’t say anything, but held his arms out. Ed got the message and scooped the smaller teen in his arms, not caring when his clothing got soaked with water. Eddy weighed far too little for someone of his size.

Double D turned off the water once his friend was cradled in Ed’s embrace.

Ed sat down on the toilet lid and held Eddy in his arms as Double D began to gently towel off his hair and pat his skin dry. He dug through the medicine cabinet and disinfected and bandaged all the open wounds he could see. Ed kept holding Eddy after he was dry while Double D looked for the most comfortable clothes he could find in Eddy’s closet. Eddy said and did nothing as his two best friends helped him get dressed, watching blankly as if he weren’t even there, his limbs limp and pliant.

“I’m going to pack a bag for him,” Double D said. Ed nodded.

Meanwhile, the rest of the cul-de-sac teens played guard duty as Double D and Ed went in and got out of Eddy’s room as fast as they could, Ed holding Eddy bridal style while Double D grabbed some of his friend’s things.

Once a bag with toiletries and a few changes of clothes was packed, Double D grabbed Eddy’s broken guitar and a USB he knew had some of Eddy’s original songs. Before he left, Double D turned to the computer in the room once Ed and Eddy were outside and said, “We’re going back to your house, Kevin. Don’t crowd him or ask him anything. He just needs a safe place right now, and that monster won’t look there for him, if he bothers to look at all.” There was no point in waiting for a response and he joined his friends quickly.

He and Ed, still carrying a mostly unresponsive Eddy, left his home and went to the last place his brother would think to look for him.


	3. Friend, Please

The cul-de-sac teens looked up when the front door opened and the Ed’s walked in, wanting to make sure their classmate was ok, but also heeding Double D’s requests for space.

Eddy had his eyes closed, his arms curled to his chest with one hand grasping at Ed’s shirt collar and his head laying tucked in the junction of Ed’s neck and shoulder. He looked exhausted and must have passed out during the short walk over to Kevin’s. They eyed the thin line of scabs on Eddy’s throat, where the monster had pressed the knife.

Rolf clenched his fists and scowled at the state the small Ed-boy was in, “The bampot will regret harming a friend of Rolf.”

“He’s gonna wish he never even _looked_ at Eddy when I’m done with him,” Sara snarled, cracking her knuckles and scowling. “Who’s with me?”

Every non-occupied hand went up in the air. Ed just raised his foot to show his support.

“Here, here!” Jonny called.

“I’ve got a knuckle sandwich with his name on it!”

“Rolf will split his head open like a winter melon!”

“We should tell the Kanker sisters what he did to Eddy.” The teens collectively shuddered at Jimmy’s suggestion.

Kevin raised an eyebrow at him, “Are _you_ going to tell them?”

“No way! They’ll kill the messenger!”

“Any volunteers to tell them?” Nazz asked. No one volunteered. “We’ll save that for a last resort then.”

“We have the Ed-boy, what shall our next move be?”

“Let’s set him up in the guest room,” Kevin said. “He can rest in there and when my mom comes home, she’ll be able to help him.”

Ed shifted Eddy in his arms a little and it was then that Eddy’s eyes snapped open and he sat up as much as he could while still being held. He looked around in exhaustion, eyes zeroing in on Double D, “Where am I?” he asked, voice sounding much rougher than usual, “How'd I get here?” 

“You don’t remember?”

“No.” Eddy’s brows furrowed in confusion.

“You’re with Ed and me at Kevin’s house. What _do_ you remember?”

Eddy paused and bit his lip in a way that his friends knew he was going to lie. “I came home from school and took a nap. Did you kidnap me?” he asked the last part jokingly. He sounded like he was trying too hard to act normal.

No one knew what to say. “... Sort of? We... came over and got you when we realized you...” Double D paused to find the right words. “... weren’t safe.”

Eddy laughed, far too loud, “What are you talkin’ about, Sockhead? Why wouldn’t I be safe at home? What makes you think I’d be safe here? At _Kevin’s_ house? Did you forget that everyone here hates me and wants to beat me up?” Eddy stopped when he heard his own words and looked around at all the faces in confusion. “Wait. Why isn’t anyone trying to kill me?”

“Eddy,” Kevin started, despite Double D making a slicing gesture to get him to stop talking, “We know what happened to you. We saw everything.”

Eddy didn’t meet his eyes when he said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Saw what?”

“Dude, your brother is a monster.”

Eddy visibly tensed up, the hand still grasping at Ed’s collar went white at the knuckles and he frowned, “My brother loves me.” 

It was as if Eddy had dumped a bucket of ice-cold water on everyone in the room, the chill of his straight up denial seeping into their hearts until there was nothing left but dread.

“He hurt you!” Jimmy cried.

“He only does that because he wants me to be better! You don’t know what you’re talking about!”

“Yeah, we do, man! We saw what he did to you! We heard what he said! We saw that he- that he-” Kevin couldn’t finish his sentence, his clenched fists trembling at his side. He looked away. 

“Shit.” Eddy said, “Shit. What did you see? _What did you see_?”

Reading the situation, Double D got between them and motioned for the others to back off, “Eddy! Eddy, please, I promise you it’s going to be ok. I promise you.”

“ _No, it’s NOT_!” he hissed. Eddy flailed around, wiggling to get away and Ed let him go, “Don’t touch me! Don’t! Don’t look at me!” His breathing was picking up and his heart rate skyrocketed. Eddy could feel tears well up in his eyes and he squeezed them shut, gasping. He backed away and crouched down into a little ball and just held his breath.

Eddy didn’t know how much time passed. He didn’t know what happened, too full of pain and fear and shame and self-loathing to pay attention to anything else. All he knew was he came back to himself laying curled halfway in Ed’s lap with tears still dripping down his face. His eyes darted around, and he realized he was in a different room. Only Ed and Double D were with him.

He opened his mouth but no sound came out. He looked down and saw that he had Double D’s hand in a death grip. Eddy relaxed his grip and let out a shaky sigh. 

“Eddy,” Double D started, but Eddy cut him off.

“What did you see?” he asked tiredly, emotionlessly, ready to accept his life’s new realities.

Ed and Double D glanced at each other worriedly, but Double D answered, “Everything your brother... did to you today. We saw and heard it all. We... we got you out of there as soon as we could. We’re sorry, Eddy. We’re so sorry.”

Eddy didn’t say anything and just looked away.

His friends shared another concerned look. Eddy’s stomach chose that moment to growl loudly. He flinched and Double D tentatively asked, “Do you want something to eat?”

Eddy just shook his head, not even bothering to come up with an excuse. Double D thought back to all the times Eddy had refused to eat over the past several months. It was so gradual and he was so subtle about it, no one even noticed at the time.

Any time Double D or Ed or anyone else would ask Eddy if he was hungry or if he wanted to eat something, even if they were just offering him a snack, he would always deflect their question and change the subject smoothly to something else. Double D couldn’t remember the last time he had seen Eddy eat anything.

Double D considered pushing the issue, but shot down the idea pretty quickly, Eddy had dealt with enough already and he would eat (hopefully) when he was ready. “Do you want us to stay here with you?” He asked instead, and Eddy nodded and buried his head in Ed’s stomach, grasping at Double D’s hand once more.

o0O0o

It’s late at night when Eddy slowly opens his eyes from his most recent nightmare. He doesn’t scream, doesn’t yell. He just carefully stands up, ensuring that he doesn’t wake his two closest friends, and slips silently out the door. He has to pass through the living room where everyone else is sleeping to get to the bathroom and he stumbles on Sara’s sleeping bag.

She wakes with a start and calls sleepily, “Jimmy? Is that you?”

“It’s just me, Sara,” Eddy says, the softest she’s ever heard him speak. 

That immediately concerns her and she sits up a little, keeping her own voice at a whisper, “Are you alright? Did you have a nightmare?”

“I’m fine. I just got up to use the bathroom.”

“Do you know where it is?”

“Yes.”

She hesitates before saying, “Ok. Let me know if you need anything.”

There is a wry smile on his face at her surprisingly kind and gentle words, not that she could see it, and he says, “Thanks Sara.”

He continues past the living room and into the connected kitchen. He contemplates when he ate last, his stomach rolling in pain at being so empty. He makes a quick stop and snags something from one of the shelves. He’s sure Kevin won’t mind. If he does, well, it’ll be too late by the time the jock figures out something is missing.

He finally makes it to the bathroom where he shuts the door quietly and turns to face himself in the mirror. He looks awful. His eyes are dull and there are dark bags underneath them. His skin is pale and his hair is disheveled. The marks from earlier stand out like beacons on his face and neck and collar bone. He looks like death warmed over.

He looks away from his reflection and moves backwards until his back hits the wall. He slides unceremoniously down and lands on the floor with a ‘plop.’

He thinks about what his peers saw earlier. They saw his weakness, his shame, his guilt, his living _nightmare_. They saw. _They saw_. He didn’t want anyone to see. Didn’t want anyone to know. No one was ever supposed to know. No one was ever supposed to find out.

But someone did. Not just someone, _everyone_. _Everyone found out_.

His lies were no good anymore. He couldn’t fake his way through the day any longer because the others would be able to call his bluff. They would be able to see right through him. They would pity him, coddle him, try to help him.

He didn’t _want_ any help! He didn’t _deserve_ help! He didn’t want-! He didn’t-

He just wants things to be normal again.

He would pretend he was ok because as long as he kept up the charade, things _were_ normal. The cul-de-sac teens still hated him, the other Ed’s were still his only friends, and he still got respect if he dropped his brother’s name.

He would pretend everything was ok, because lying to himself and to others was all Eddy McGee had ever been good at.

Because keeping everything about who he really was under strict lock and key was all he ever knew.

Everything was different now, though. Eddy could no longer pretend everything was ok and that he was a jerk to anyone and everyone just because he felt like it. He could no longer pick fights to explain away the cuts and bruises. He could no longer distract the people close to him by stealing their things and being mean to them. 

It wasn’t like he _enjoyed_ doing those things and honestly, he hated himself for how he treated people. But lying and manipulating and stealing was the only thing his brother ever taught him and it was the only thing he could think to do in order to throw off suspicion about his home life.

He did what he had to in order make his brother proud and to keep his shameful secret.

Only now, there are no more secrets left for him to keep, and he didn’t want to impress his brother anymore.

In a way, he is glad he doesn’t have to pretend anymore. No more lies, no more hurting people with his sharp words and mean actions. It's not fair to his friends. They deserve better than the way he treated them. In a way, it is a relief. 

He can finally be free of this burden of lies.

Without another thought, he picks up his little souvenir from Kevin’s kitchen and swiftly brings the blade against his forearm in one long, shaky motion before repeating the action on his other arm. The knife clatters to the floor not a few moments later, warm blood painting the metal red.

\--------

Meanwhile, Sara is laying in her sleeping bag, slowly drifting back to dreamland as she sleepily thinks about what woke her up. She wonders if Eddy got up because of a nightmare. He said he didn’t, but he wasn’t exactly known for being honest. Maybe he really did just need to use the bathroom, though, and he wasn’t lying... 

That was when her mind suddenly makes the connection that Eddy wasn’t back from the bathroom yet. All traces of sleepiness gone and heart pounding at the realization, she gets up, steps carefully over the sleeping bodies of her friends, and makes her way towards the bathroom. 

Sara didn’t know what it was that made her get up and go after him, perhaps just intuition, but whatever the reason, she feels a little silly when she comes upon the bathroom door and sees the light on underneath the door frame. She is about to go back to bed when a bad feeling makes her pause and slowly creep closer to the door, listening for him.

She hears nothing.

She steps closer and hesitates a little before knocking gently, calling out, “Eddy? Is everything ok?” She receives no reply. She tries again, a little more firmly, “Eddy? It’s Sara. Are you all right in there?” There's not even a whisper of sound.

Sara is about to try again when she notices the toe of her sock is warm and wet. She looks down and _screams_. Dark red blood is oozing out from under the door and she leaps away in a panic. Terror gripping her heart, she bravely steps forward and pounds and pounds and pounds on the door, screaming Eddy’s name and yelling for the others to call an ambulance.

It’s a whirlwind of bodies within minutes, her shouts waking the whole house, and she’s suddenly pulled away from the door so Kevin can unlock it with a skeleton key. Ed does not let her or Double D see inside, but she gathers from Kevin and Rolf’s ashen faces that it’s bad.

Kevin’s mom is there too, pulling on a robe and looking utterly exhausted, having just gotten off call at the local hospital. She moves the boys aside and takes over, barking out orders like the ER nurse she is.

The ambulance arrives, lights flashing and sirens wailing, and the paramedics have Eddy loaded in the back and on the way to the hospital in record time.

Once the ambulance is gone, things are far too quiet.

o0O0o

In several hours after intensive surgery, Eddy will wake up to a softly painted hospital room, his two best friends on either side of him and the other cul-de-sac teens comically scattered around the room, making use of any flat surface to sit on.

Ed will notice that he is awake first and will alert everyone else by shouting joyfully, “Eddy!”

“Eddy! You’re awake! You’re ok,” Double D will sob.

And Eddy will give his usual lopsided smirk and it will be then that everyone, including his two closest friends in the whole world, will realize it had always been hollow. “’Course I’m ok,” he’ll say, “Why wouldn’t I be?”


	4. Sound the Bugle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something to tide u over while I try to write a sequel-

When Kevin and Rolf startled awake at Sara’s screams, they didn’t know what to expect. She had been yelling for someone to help, to call an ambulance, so they knew it was nothing good. However, no matter what they thought they might see, nothing could prepare them for the sight that greeted them when Kevin opened the bathroom door.

There Eddy lay, the boy who tormented them and who they tormented back all throughout their childhood, laying in a pool of his own blood, his skin shockingly pale and his body as still as death. His eyes were closed in a false impression of the first peaceful rest he had gotten in who knows how long. His blood soaked into the bathmat, his clothes, his hair. It was oozing from the deep cuts running along his forearms. The boys just found themselves staring uncomprehendingly at the sight, incapable of fully understanding the situation.

Eddy… he looked so young, so _small_. So broken down and beaten and they wondered, not for the first time that day, how they could have missed something so big that was happening right under their noses. They went to _school_ with him! They _grew up_ together! They interacted on a daily basis and they never even noticed he was being brutalized by someone in his own family.

Kevin should have been angry that the bastard had done this here, in Kevin’s home, in Kevin’s _bathroom_. Like, what the hell, dude? One last fuck you to the kids he manipulated and stole from? 

Kevin _was_ angry, for the briefest of moments before he ruthlessly snuffed the feeling out. This wasn’t Eddy’s fault. It would _never_ be Eddy’s fault. Eddy was a victim of abuse and there was nothing- _nothing_ that could _ever_ make what had happened to him _Eddy’s fault_.

He knew it wasn’t Eddy’s fault. Kevin understood – in a different way, at least – how it felt to believe that everything was hopeless, to be in so much pain that all he wanted was to end it all and be nothing. He knew. He _knew_. And Eddy had a lot of pain he had been hiding, suffering in plain sight and drowning silently.

It suddenly struck Kevin that Eddy was stronger than he had ever known, living with something so horrific for so long. How did he ever think him weak? To survive what he went through for as long as he did… _‘But would he survive?’_ Kevin wondered, _‘He couldn’t fight anymore. That’s why he did this. There’s only so much that can be done once someone stops fighting.’_

\--

Rolf may be from a different country and may not understand many parts of this strange culture he lived in, but body language and emotions were the universal language and gave light to a person’s true character, his mama taught him. 

_‘Look at this fruit,’_ Mama had said, holding up a beautiful shiny melon. _‘It’s beautiful, see its rind, how shiny it is? It’s ripe, you can hear the juices swishing around.’_ Rolf had nodded, believing the melon would make a delicious snack. Mama had smiled a tight smile at him. _‘Ah, but looks can be deceiving, my son, and wicked tongues can trick ears with their pretty lies.’_ At Rolf’s confusion, she turned the melon so he could see the back side. It was infested with bugs and was half rotten and his nose scrunched up at the sight. _‘The people in this world are much like fruit. Some are beautiful and whole, inside and out. Some are bruised and dirty but what is inside is just as good. Some will try to deceive you with a pretty outside that hides a rotten center and others are completely rotten, through and through.’_

_‘How do I tell the difference, Mama?’_ he had asked, eyes shining in wonder.

_‘If you observe the fruit from all sides, it will reveal its truth. You must do the same with the people you meet. Do not let them trick you, my child, you must learn to see people from all sides.’_

_‘How?’_

_‘Observe their manner and their actions. Most often their true intentions will lie beyond their words, and you must look for them. Learn their unspoken language, their movements, their emotions, their feelings, their intentions. Learn those things and it will be difficult for you to be deceived.’_

Rolf was a good judge of character. Learn the character, learn the person.  
He had to start at emotions and feelings. Once he understood those, he learned empathy, understanding what someone felt and thus understanding in theory why they do whatever it is that they do. Once he learned those, the patterns in a person’s behavior became clear to him and he could predict how they would react. 

Next came reading the body and its movements. That had been a little more difficult for him, but he eventually learned that too. The shift of a hip, the twitch of an eyebrow, the clench of a fist, they all gave away what a person was really thinking, and whether or not they were friend or foe.

It was why he was best friends with Kevin. He saw well-meaning intentions and loyalty behind all the tough words and showboating. It was why he humored the Ed boys unless they pushed his patience too far. He had seen their desire for attention and acceptance underneath their underhanded schemes. Ed was sweet if stupid and protective if destructive. Double D was gentle and intelligent but fearful and naïve. 

But Eddy… the short Ed-boy had always been a bit of a mystery to Rolf, always giving off mixed signals and contradictions to his character. Rolf had seen the need for attention, yes, but there was always something else there, hiding too far for Rolf to see clearly. Most days, the boy was full of avarice and deception, but sometimes loyalty towards his friends would outshine his need for self-preservation. Sometimes true kindness would sneak between the cracks of greed and arrogance when he thought no one was looking. It was always just enough of a contradiction that Rolf could never really predict how the Ed-boy would react in any given situation. He just assumed that he had missed something.

That thing he had missed was handed to him on a silver platter today, however, realization smacking him in the face with its abruptness. A ruse. The short Ed-boy he had known all his life was nothing more than a ruse. A mask to keep people away even when he so desperately wanted to be accepted and loved. The cruel teachings of his sibling ensuring that he would drive everyone away with his poor character.

Rolf didn’t realize that what he saw sneaking through that larger-than-life personality weren’t one off incidents, but rather Eddy’s true self slipping between the fissures of the most well-constructed mask he had ever come across. _’How long,’_ he wondered, _‘How long had he known he needed to protect himself this way, and why did no one ever notice?’_

…

Neither teen protested when Kevin’s mom moved them aside and gave them both a job to do. They complied silently, thankful to have something to occupy their minds.

\-------  
Ed didn’t mind blood. He watched so many horror movies and read so many comic books featuring killer monsters that he wasn’t fazed by it. He had seen countless murders on crime shows. He had seen endless amounts of idiotic horror movie characters get slaughtered in increasingly brutal and creative ways. He had seen terrifying monsters carve paths of violence and death in his books.

He knew what blood looked like. It had never bothered him up until the moment he saw Eddy laying in a pool of it. 

He determinately did not let Sara or Double D see. He protected his friends and family from scary things. It was his job. It was what he was good at. Or… so he thought. 

Oh, _oh_ , Ed was so stupid. He knew he was stupid, no matter what Eddy or Double D would whisper to him to contradict those invasive thoughts when the three were alone. How had he not _seen_ it? How had he let this happen? How could he have been so stupid to think that Eddy was safe and out of the woods once they got him out of that torture chamber disguised as a house?

He had prided himself on being able to protect those that he loved, but because of his stupid, _stupid_ brain, he failed. He _failed_ Eddy. He failed him. His first friend. One of the two people who stuck by his side for so, so long. His and Double D’s first kiss. Their first relationship. They had never put a name to it, never come out as boyfriends or anything, but they had been together and they had been happy. For a few short months until everything fell apart, that is.

Ed’s self-hatred dives even further when he realizes the trouble started around the time Eddy’s brother unexpectedly moved back in.

Eddy had slowly become more irritable, more tired, more hungry, more snappish. He had started stealing and picking fights. Eddy stopped letting Ed or Double D hold him or kiss him and would kick them out if they had asked what was wrong.

The only thing that had kept them coming back was that Eddy never changed the lock on his door, never demanded the keys he gave them back, never stole them even when he had the opportunity to. To them, that was a cry for help and what did they do? They abandoned him.

They thought he needed space.

_Oh_ how wrong they were.

Ed was familiar with blood and he was familiar with death. Had seen it a million different times in a million different ways. It was normal to him.

However, when Kevin unlocked the bathroom door and Ed could see Eddy’s pale body stained with red, he felt like he was going to faint. 

Ed frowned and closed his eyes with a shudder, arms thrown out to keep Double D and Sara from seeing. He had already failed to protect one of his first and best friends from his nightmare of a life, he wasn’t going to fail at protecting those he had left.

Because in that moment, Ed was certain that Eddy was dead. 

They had abandoned him in his greatest time of need. It only made sense that Eddy would abandon them in turn.

\--------  
Double D was panicking. Of _course_ he was panicking, one of his best friends in the whole world just tried to _kill _himself. He couldn’t help but believe it to be his fault. If only he had _tried harder_ , if only he had seen the signs, maybe this wouldn’t have happened.__

____

____

He was thankful to Ed for not letting him see, but he was also _angry_. Double D wanted to see his friend, to make sure that he was all right, but he knew he would be of no help. Heck, he almost threw up at the sight of the blood seeping out from under the door. That was _Eddy’s_ blood. His and Ed’s best friend. Their first kiss. One third of the trio that had been together for years; that had been _together_ together for months. Even when they thought he could use some space, they never stopped loving him. _‘He’ll work through what’s bothering him,’_ Double D had reassured Ed. _‘And we’ll be here waiting for him once he’s ready. Whatever happens, we’ll still love him, best friend or more than best friend.’_

He had to look away when the paramedics rushed Eddy’s body to the ambulance, sirens wailing.

That was good, right? Wailing sirens and a speedy removal meant that his dear, dear friend was still alive. Eddy could make it. He _would_ make it. He was the most stubborn person Double D knew. If anyone could recover, if was Eddy.

But those thoughts quickly turned sour.

Eddy was the most stubborn person he knew. So stubborn that he pushed _everyone_ away. So stubborn and ~~dead set~~ ( _don’t use that word!_ ) determined about not letting anyone know what was happening, that once everyone found out…

There was nothing to fuel that stubbornness anymore. He let go once there were no more secrets.

So the question was: would Eddy be able to hold on, or had the last few months corroded his iron will into nothing?

\---------  
Sara and Jimmy held each other on Kevin’s couch as the paramedics wheeled Eddy away. Their eyes dull and bloodshot. Their minds replaying all the horrible, shocking things that happened that day. They had naively believed that once Eddy was out of that house, he would be safe. What hopeful thinking that was.

The question that kept repeating in their minds was _Now what? Now what? Now what?_

They didn’t have an answer, only time would tell.

\--------  
Johnny sat in a hard, plastic chair while Eddy was in surgery, his head in his hands. His thoughts chasing its tail in endless circles. _Kevin approaching him with a request for help. The cul-de-sac kids coming together to form a plan. Himself, volunteering to hack into Eddy’s computer and spy on him. That pathetic excuse for a human being, hurting someone simply because they could, manipulating Eddy’s familial love for him, something that came so natural to Tony that Johnny wept for what Eddy must have experienced at the monster’s merciless hands. What else happened to him that they knew nothing about? How long has this been going on? Weeks? Months? Years? What else did they not know? What other pain was Eddy hiding?_

“How can we fix this?” he whispered to no one.

\---------  
Nazz paced as they waited during Eddy’s surgery.

“Do you think he’ll be ok?” she asked.

Kevin stayed silent. The words “of course he will” hadn’t been comforting for hours.

“How could this have happened?”

There were only so many times he could say “I don’t know” before even uncertainty became meaningless.

\--------  
When they saw Eddy laying in that hospital bed, still out cold but still very much alive, there was a big sigh of relief and small cheers. Double D and Ed, along with Nazz, Jimmy, and Johnny were crying with relief. Sara held onto her brother’s hand for dear life. Rolf, Plank, and Kevin were like sentinels, silently watching over the group. They could have their break downs later.

After Eddy woke up.

~~If Eddy woke up.~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're curious about the titles, yes, they're song titles. Check them out if you want.
> 
> When the Morning Comes- A Great Big World  
> Evermore- Dan Stevens  
> How to Save a Life- The Fray  
> Friend, Please- Twenty One Pilots  
> Sound the Bugle- Bryan Adams
> 
> I don't like the ending for this, but it's been sitting on my computer unfinished for at least a month and I'm sick of looking at it. I'm working on a sequel, but it's slow going. This was stuff I had cut out from the main story but then repurposed. Enjoy

**Author's Note:**

> Did you know that the sexual assault of men may be the most under-reported crime in the US? This is where I did some of my research into this very serious topic and how it affects people, just remove the spaces: https: //www.evawintl.org /Library/DocumentLibraryHandler .ashx?id=656
> 
> If you or anyone you know has had something like this happen to you, please speak up and get help. Call the national sexual assault hotline for free confidential help 24 hours a day: 1-800-656-4673, or the international toll-free number: 833-SAFE-833 or email: crisis@ pathwaystosafety .org


End file.
